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At the end of today (2/8/2012) I will be unemployed… but only for a week. :) I have accepted a new position, and am leaving the fine people of Mercent behind. On the 15th, I will be starting as the Associate Director of Search Marketing at 1-800-Contacts.

So the question I have gotten a lot, as you might imagine, is why? Why leave behind a gig where you can work from home, basically set your own hours, are strategically involved in the direction of the company, etc etc. Why?

Well.. it hasn’t been an easy decision. Mercent is a great company with a great future. There are little things here and there that irk me, but spend 3+ years at a company and you will always have that. What it really breaks down to is this: I am here, Mercent is there.

Mercent is in Seattle, and I live in Utah. I’ve only ever worked for Mercent remotely as a “hoboworker” as I like to call it – working from my basement, various coffee shops and cafes, airports and hotels. It’s not bad, to be honest.. I have 2 out of 3 kids that have never known dad to not work in the basement. When you need a break and take a stroll around the office, I head upstairs and toss my kids around for a bit. There are some fantastic benefits to the hoboworking lifestyle. But there are trade-offs.

It’s lonely. :) It’s not like I can see my coworkers whenever I want – I only see them every few months at the most. All that back and forth has to happen via email, phone, IM, and so on. Which means a lot of times it just doesn’t happen. But that is fairly easy to get around.. When your job is long-term strategy and immediate product input, it really helps to be in the same room with the other stakeholders. When you have to build a team, get executive buy-in, and really affect change within the organization, you need to be there. There’s a bit more to it than all that, but suffice it to say that the only real option I could see for continuing to be (or possibly only to feel) successful in my job was to move to Seattle. And I don’t want to move to Seattle. :) It’s a fine town, but I have a good thing going here.

So – Taking a job here in Utah. It’s very close to home (although still multiplies my commute by like 1000), has great benefits, and from what I can tell from the interview process is full of awesome people. I also think the change in lifestyle will be great for my family. I’m really looking forward to it.

Welcome!

Thanks for stopping by. I'm Rick Galan - husband of an awesome wife, father of 5 awesome kids, resider in the awesome state of Utah, and professional in the awesome field of online marketing and business.

That's a lot of awesome you say? You're darn right it is.

This is where I write. The topics will vary. I'm not making any promises.

If you want to connect - take a look directly below to find the best ways. Otherwise I'm rickgalan@... pretty much anywhere.